Nonstop flight route between Louisville, Kentucky, United States and Santa Barbara, California, United States:
Departure Airport:

Arrival Airport:

Distance from LOU to SBA:
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- About this route
- LOU Airport Information
- SBA Airport Information
- Facts about LOU
- Facts about SBA
- Map of Nearest Airports to LOU
- List of Nearest Airports to LOU
- Map of Furthest Airports from LOU
- List of Furthest Airports from LOU
- Map of Nearest Airports to SBA
- List of Nearest Airports to SBA
- Map of Furthest Airports from SBA
- List of Furthest Airports from SBA
About this route:
A direct, nonstop flight between Bowman Field (LOU), Louisville, Kentucky, United States and Santa Barbara Airport (SBA), Santa Barbara, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 1,910 miles (or 3,073 kilometers).
A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the relatively short distance between Bowman Field and Santa Barbara Airport, the route shown on this map most likely still appears to be a straight line.
Departure Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | LOU / KLOU |
Airport Name: | Bowman Field |
Location: | Louisville, Kentucky, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 38°13'41"N by 85°39'48"W |
Area Served: | Louisville, Kentucky |
Operator/Owner: | Louisville Regional Airport Authority (LRAA) |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 546 feet (166 meters) |
# of Runways: | 2 |
View all routes: | Routes from LOU |
More Information: | LOU Maps & Info |
Arrival Airport Information:
IATA / ICAO Codes: | SBA / KSBA |
Airport Name: | Santa Barbara Airport |
Location: | Santa Barbara, California, United States |
GPS Coordinates: | 34°25'33"N by 119°50'25"W |
Area Served: | Santa Barbara, California |
Operator/Owner: | City of Santa Barbara |
Airport Type: | Public |
Elevation: | 10 feet (3 meters) |
# of Runways: | 3 |
View all routes: | Routes from SBA |
More Information: | SBA Maps & Info |
Facts about Bowman Field (LOU):
- Bowman found an outlet for his enthusiasm after meeting and forming a brief partnership with Louisvillian Robert H.
- Bowman Field is operated by the Louisville Regional Airport Authority, which also operates Louisville International Airport.
- The dominant landmark of Bowman Field is its terminal, known as the Administration Building, styled in aerodynamic Moderne.
- During the 1920s and 1930s, Eastern Air Lines, Trans World Airlines and the original Continental Airlines operated passenger and mail service in and out of Bowman Field.
- Because of Bowman Field's relatively low elevation of 546 feet, planes can take off or land at Bowman Field at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
- The closest airport to Bowman Field (LOU) is Louisville International Airport (SDF), which is located only 5 miles (9 kilometers) SW of LOU.
- Bowman Field is surrounded by tree-lined suburban neighborhoods, but accidents are relatively rare.
- The furthest airport from Bowman Field (LOU) is Margaret River Airport (MGV), which is located 11,243 miles (18,093 kilometers) away in Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia.
- Bowman Field (LOU) has 2 runways.
- Kentucky Flying Service is no longer in operation.
Facts about Santa Barbara Airport (SBA):
- Five airlines serve the Airport as of July 2013 with non-stop flights to Denver, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle/Tacoma.
- Santa Barbara Airport (SBA) has 3 runways.
- Airline flights began in 1932 on Pacific Seaboard Airlines.
- The furthest airport from Santa Barbara Airport (SBA) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,487 miles (18,486 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
- With the outbreak of WWII the airport became MCAS Santa Barbara in 1942, an aviator training base for the U.S Marines.
- Because of Santa Barbara Airport's relatively low elevation of 10 feet, planes can take off or land at Santa Barbara Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
- The closest airport to Santa Barbara Airport (SBA) is Santa Ynez Airport (SQA), which is located only 18 miles (29 kilometers) NW of SBA.
- Until 2002 Santa Barbara Airport was on a mainline jet aircraft route between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
- American Airlines started nonstop McDonnell Douglas MD-80s to Dallas Fort-Worth International in 1984, sometimes on a triangle routing of DFW-Burbank-SBA-DFW or DFW-Bakersfield-SBA-DFW.
- As airplane manufacturing grew in the late 1930s that airstrip developed into an airfield.